We Are as Mayflies
by ImTheSnarkKnight
Summary: The the mountains bordering the Land of Iron there lives a clan who lives almost completely cut of from the rest of society. When a massacre forces them to leave, Yuzuki, the daughter of the clan's leader, must go out into the world to save her people and to figure out the reason for the attack. Will somewhat follow cannon story, maybe eventual OcXGaara but won't focus on romance.


**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto and I'm kind of glad I don't because I don't think I could work on the same project for more then ten years.

**Authors Note: **Okay so I really shouldn't be starting another fanfiction while I'm already in the process of writing one, but this stupid idea wouldn't get out of my head. I haven't been a part of the Nauto fandom in the last five or so years but from what I remember of the fanfictions I read back when I was is that there weren't many OC fics with the OC being in a position of power and responsibility. They were always the loners or just another team member so I wanted to see if the dynamic would be different if they were in a position that required them to actively take care of others. I have a general idea on where I want to go with this but I want to hear what you guys think of this first. I love constructive critiques so please write any if you have it.

It way eventually be an ocXcannon character and if so it would probably be oc x Gaara since he is my favorite but I might just have it end up being a general fic as well.

Anyways I'd love to year you're thoughts on the story and if you like it. This is probably the longest authors note that will ever appear on this fic if I end up continuing it.

Now I must get back to my Death Note fanfiction and studying for my college finals. Have a great day and thanks for reading!

* * *

_"Long ago, before the Hidden Villages and the separate lands there were only two groups of beings. Humans of all tribes, clans, and kinds, and spirits, both benevolent and kind. The two were almost constantly at ends, demons attacking human clans and humans exterminating all spirits, regardless of kind. One group was different however, the people of the snow who lived at the base of a large mountain of ice, owned by a powerful Yuki-Onna. It is there our people settled and in return for the land paid tribute to the powerful spirit who lived there in order to remain at peace. This remained so until humans began to organize and set out to kill all demons, __whether__ dangerous or not. Eventually word spread of the Yuki-On a in the mountain to demon hunters from afar, and they amassed to kill the spirit. _

_ The leader of the people of the snow who lived at the base of the mountain, a man named Hosaka, quickly decided to defend the spirit. For it had never caused any of the villagers harm and had protected them through the years from other spirits. So he created a militia of men, women, and children and climbed the mountain with them in order to defend the spirit. When the demon hunters came they engaged in a bloody and long battle with the people of the snow until the Yuki-Onna stopped the conflict by giving herself up. For she would of rather died th__a__n see the people who she had come to cherish suffer. _

_ Before she was cut down she gave one final gift to the people of the snow, in thanks for having protected her with their lives. She blessed them with the gift of ice and snow and sealed her power into Hosaka's sword, disappearing forever and creating Arashi burēka, the demon sword. We, the people of the snow live on, inside the mountain fortress of the Yuki-Onna, and the decedents of the blessed Hosaka as their leaders." _

"And I, Yuzuki as the first born of the current Lord Yuu's children, will have the honor and right to continue on protecting our people and continuing the sacred duty of keeping Arashi burēka safe." Lady Yuzuki finished, touching her head to the floor in front of her mother who smiled softly at the end.

"Very good Yuzuki, your father will be pleased when he hears it at your coming of age ceremony." She said and Yuzuki allowed a small smile to grace her features before rising.

"Yes, well, even though its a few days away I felt as though I must prepare for the occasion. One only turns fifteen once, as they say." Yuzuki replied as she collected her swords from the table next to her.

Her mother, Lady Mirai, took a long sip from her tea before sending her child a light look.

"Ah yes, of course. Now that you are done with your lessons will you be going out to train?" She asked.

"I was planning on it. Was there something you wish of me first though?" Yuzuki asked whilst slowly making her way to the door.

"No but I'd like you to take Akito with you, your father coddles him but I think he still needs to learn at least basics of the blade." Her mother replied with the small smirk gracing her features.

Yuzuki let out a sigh, she loved her brother but attempting to train the boy in any sort of physical activity was simply impossible.

"Of course mother, I will try at least." Yuzuki answered before bowing once to her mother then leaving.

It was cold outside, though it was late spring the snow still hadn't let up from the long winter, and through the iced pathways of the mountain palace Yuzuki could see the piles of snow continuing to rise. It had been a particularly hard winter this year, not that any of the clans-folk minded. After all, all of the snow people we neigh impervious to the cold.

As she turned out of the main section of the palace and into one of the winding corridors leading out of the mountain she nodded here and there at the few clans-folk milling near. Most bowed as soon as they saw her but a few also offered a happy "hello" or a wave which Yuzuki responded to automatically. Being the eldest daughter to Lord Yuu occasionally had its perks, like the ability to swiftly move through the mountain without having to stop for conversation. After all, she could be on important business for all anyone else knew.

The training area was a large alcove near the peak of the mountain. It had been sectioned off and created by Yuzuki's grandfather, Lord Sato almost a hundred years past, but it still stood strong. Usually it was quite busy with a mix of children who were training to become warriors and legends and warriors on break who worked a little too hard. Currently though it was rather empty except for the small group of children in the center of the area. One of which was her younger brother, the other two his best friends, twins Ame and Ume who were about his age but twice his size.

Akito was a rather sickly child and thusly never really took part in the shenanigans the other clan children got into. His skin was a sickly white color, almost as pale as his silver hair, a trait that all members of the leading cast of the clan had, and the same as Yuzuki. His ranking tattoos were a ice blue in contrast to Yuzuki's red and his eyes were pale grey, like all members of the clan.

The twins were almost his polar opposite looks wise. Their skin was pale but still had a nice healthy glow about it, and Ume's was patchy red in some spots. Both of them had jet black hair, though Ume's was shaved on one side to show her ranking tattoos and Ame's was shaved in the back with his only hair being his bangs to show the same. Both of their tattoos were only a few shades darker than the rest of their skin, giving them an odd, scarred-like appearance.

They were an odd group but Yuzuki wasn't one to complain. At least the twins actively wanted to learn to fight and usually were fun to teach. If fact they seemed to be doing her job of training Akito for her, for both of them were attempting to show him the proper striking stance, their wooden swords shaking with exertion.

Yuzuki felt herself grin.

"Ume, your back is bent, it needs to be straight or else you'd be easy to knock over. Ame your stance isn't low enough, the same would happen if you were in a true fight." She corrected them as they jumped at the noise.

Both of them immediately straightened up and bowed respectively.

"Lady Yuzuki! The honor is ours." They spoke quickly in clipped regimented tones that only held for the few seconds they were bowed. Any formality was dropped though as soon as the two lifted their heads, Ume with a smirk and Ame with a nervous smile.

"And what are you doing here today Yuzu-chan?" Ume asked in a cocky voice, already knowing the answer. Ame blushed and looked away.

"Ume show more respect..." He quietly scolded.

"Respect?!" Ume squawked before glaring at her twin, "It isn't like there's anyone around that we have to impress!"

Yuzuki rolled her eyes at their bickering. Despite how they talked to each other the two were thicker than thieves. Yuzuki had been training them at the same time she has been training her brother as they gave her hope for the future of warriors unlike Akito how could barely hold a wooden sword straight out for more than a few moments without getting tired.

"You must know by now that my training of you two will not continue if you constantly bicker.." Yuzuki stated

The twos bickering stopped and they looked sheepishly away. Akito turned towards his sister, silent until now.

"Sister, must we practice today? I feel quite ill having been up and about for so long." He asked quietly.

Yuzuki looked him up and down and noted he did look a little more haggard than usual. With a sigh she nodded.

"Fine Akito, you're off for today but you must tell Mother on why you aren't training." Yuzuki said as Akito nodded and quickly left. Yuzuki shook her head, unsurprised by the turn of events, and stared at Ume and Ame.

"Well what do you feel like learning today? Ninjutsu? Taijutsu? Kenjutsu?" Yuzuki listed as the twins smiled.

"Ninjutsu!""Kenjutsu." The answers rang out in unison and the twins glared at each other.

Yuzuki quickly stepped in before another bickering match could start.

"How about we mix the two together today?" She asked.

They both stared at her then lit up immediately.

"You don't mean-" "But its so advanced!"

Yuzuki smiled lightly at her excited pupils.

"I do believe you are ready for it."

The two grinned and quickly prepared for training.

* * *

A few hours and one bickering match that turned into a fist fight later Yuzuki called off training for the day. The twins, slightly worse for the wear but not completely exhausted, Followed Yuzuki out of the alcove and into the first of three residential areas.

The mountain was was split up into eight vertical sections that were each hollowed out and used for various purposes. The bottom floor was mostly used to house travelers and traders and was used as a general passage for any outsider looking for a way through the mountain. The second and third floors were used as market places and shops. The fourth held all government and military buildings along with the Lord Yuu's palace, while floors five through eight were used as residential housing, schools, hospitals, and other necessities.

Right as Yuzuki and the twins entered the eighth level however they were stopped by a panicked looking messenger.

"Lady Yuzuki! Oh thank the spirits you're safe!" He cried out upon sight of her.

"Thank the spirits? Why would I not be safe, Shun?" Yuzuki asked, looking at the messenger, Shun oddly.

"Invaders! They have taken the first three levels and were fighting for the fourth when I was sent here to get you! " Shun said, panic edging its way into his voice at the end.

Yuzuki stared at him shocked for a moment. Invaders?! Who would attack them?! The clan was small, just around a hundred people in all, there was nothing to gain except-

"Arashi burēka-" the demon sword. Yuzuki took a sharp breath before nodding.

"Shun. You, Ame and Ume must warn everyone about the attack. Get them out of the mountain, they are safest outside, take the hidden passage on the fifth level." Yuzuki ordered before racing towards the stairs leading down.

"But Lady Yuzuki-" Shun tried to argue

The twins simple stood dumbfounded.

"No buts Shun! I must make sure the sword is safe!" Yuzuki shot back before heading down.

By time she reached the stairs to the fourth floor she could hear screams.

It was a bloodbath. Yuzuki raced quickly by countless dead, most of which looked like outsiders, which she almost smirked at. As she got closer to the palace however she begun to see many men and women she knew. Fine warriors with plenty of skill. From the number of outsiders though she judged they weren't killed by anything but being outnumbered.

She unsheathed her sword as she neared the palace gate, focusing on staying silent as she snuck to the front to see if there were any invaders there. There were. A ton of them, many more then her clan had soldiers. They were interrogating what looked to be someone at the front, though she couldn't quite see given her short stature. Deciding that it would be suicide to go in that way Yuzuki quickly grabbed the palace wall next to her and silently pulled herself on top of it. She spared one more glance at the person being interrogated and froze. She could see who it was from the top of the wall.

It wasn't just one person. It was two. One of which was already dead.

Akito laid in the arms of Lady Mirai, dead, blood seeping through his midsection as Lady Mirai cradled him in his arms. She yelled something unintelligible at one of the invaders and he in return punched her. As another raised his sword.

Yuzuki looked away and dropped herself over the wall into the palace garden and her mothers pained screams rang out, echoing in the chamber. Yuzuki pushed thoughts of her bloody brother and her screaming mother and focused on her duty. The sword, Arashi burēka.

She snuck quietly into the palace and then towards the ceremony room where the sword was held. It was almost dead silent except for the occasional sounds of distant foot steps as the invaders began to search the palace. Judging by the distance most of them were close to the throne room, and Yuzuki sent a few prayers for Lord Yuu's safety. The halls were littered with bodies of people she knew, men and women of the guard. Strong people, her brothers and sisters. She silently sent her blessings for them to have peace as she moved on.

She began to think luck was on her side and that she would make it to the room before they would, sadly she was wrong. Glancing around the corner at that held the room she silently cursed as she saw the door was open and that there was a group of invaders attempting to push inside of it, only being stopped by the barrier that had been placed there decades ago.

Small blessings.

Yuzuki readied her sword before dashing foreword. She focused her chakra through the sword and swiped at the group of men, sending a wave of ice straight at them. The men in the back were hit before they could turn, yelling out in pain as the ice automatically froze the skin under their clothes, causing them to drop immediately. The other few men attempted to move but couldn't get far thanks to the narrow hall, bad for them, perfect for Yuzuki.

One of the men swung at her with a broad sword which she swiftly dodged as she swiped at his abdomen, slicing him open. She then spun and kicked the next man, forcing chakra into the blow causing the man to be thrown through the paper walls and into another room. The final invader, a woman simply smirked.

"Well well well, what have we here?" She sneered before taking a step forward.

"And here I thought we killed all of this geezers brats. No matter, this shouldn't take long." She woman's voice broke with the last sentence as she charged at Yuzuki.

Yuzuki barely had moved out of the way before she was forced to dodge again and again as the woman relentlessly slashed at her with her sword. Yuzuki dodged and weaved as fast as she could but it wasn't enough to do anything but defend, there were no openings to exploit. This woman, unlike the others, was well trained. Yuzuki recognized the sword style immediately as one from that of the Land of Iron. But there wasn't time to dwell on that.

Yuzuki quickly dodged another attack by sliding under the woman and charging through the door, straight through the barrier. The woman let out a yell in rage before charging after her again, only to be stopped by the barrier.

"Drop this barrier you little brat and come die!" She woman yelled as she slashed at the barrier.

Yuzuki laughed mirthfully.

"I cannot, the barrier was not made by me and only allows those in my blood line to pass through it. Unfortunately for you." Yuzuki stated before heading over to where the sword lay, only to pause when she saw Lord Yuu laying in front of it, a red puddle blossoming beneath him.

The woman from behind the barrier started laughing as Yuzuki paused.

"The old man died like a bitch!" The woman shouted, as she began to cackle, "He fought so hard but those ingrates I was with managed to get him right in an artery! He died moaning in pain reached out for help like the pathetic trash he is!"

Yuzuki stared at Lord Yuu for only a moment longer before grabbing Arashi burēka from its place. She didn't have time to mourn or weep, that could come when she was safe. Yuzuki turned and smirked at the woman behind the barrier, who immediately shut up.

"What's the smirk for? You realize you can't escape right? If you don't let me kill you I will just wait and watch you slowly starve to death." The woman said with no emotion in her voice.

Yuzuki shook her head before stepping back.

"You know this mountain fortress was created by the great Yuki-Onna who once lived here," she explained, "would you like to know how the villagers managed to make it to her to warn her about demon slayers?"

The woman looked confused for a moment before anger broke out over her face.

"I don't need a damn history lesson you dumbass!"

Yuzuki ignored her and released the illusion behind her, revealing a thin, dark, passageway that went straight down into the depths of the mountain.

"There are more entrances then the main one" She said before quickly racing into the passage, leaving the angry screams of the woman behind her.

Yuzuki travelled down for quite some time until the passage entered out into an open chamber where she was soon began to hear voices.

"Its been hours! We can't stay here its not safe!" Someone was saying, Yuzuki couldn't place the voice but it sounded like one of the men who often argued with Lord Yuu. A few voices went up in agreement

"We can't just leave Lord Yuu and his family behind!" Another, Shun, argued. Some other voices went up in agreement with that, including Ume and Ame's, at which Yuzuki let out a sigh of relief.

"Do not fret, for you do not have to wait any longer." Yuzuki announced as she entered the part of the chamber where everyone else was at. The survivors, she quickly counted thirty, including herself. Which meant over half of the clan was dead.

"Lady Yuzuki!" Ume squealed as she raced up and hugged Yuzuki around the midsection. "You're okay!"

"What of Lord Yuu?" Shun question as he looked past Yuzuki, as if expecting the now dead Lord to be there.

"He... Won't be joining us." Yuzuki replied curtly, patting Ume on the head.

A few of the clans men wept and Shuns face fell.

"Lady Mirai and Lord Akito aren't with you either... Did they suffer the same fate?" He asked quietly.

Yuzuki only nodded and everyone went silent, quietly mourning the loss of all who had died.

Yuzuki broke it.

"We have not the time to mourn." She said with a firm voice, refusing to show weakness at this moment. She was the daughter of Lord Yuu, she had been trained for this. "We must move out of the mountain quickly before the invaders find us."

"But where will we go?" One of the clans men, Ame and Ume's mother Yumi asked, her voice quivering

Yuzuki thought for a moment. Where would they go? They had no real allies, their clan was rather secluded from others. They were on the border of the Land of Iron but Yuzuki immediately crossed that idea off, the woman after all had the same style as their swordsmen, they could be involved. That left one option.

"We head south." Yuzuki said with a nod.

"South? Why would we ever go that way?!" Jiro, the man who was telling everyone they should leave earlier, nearly shouted.

Yuzuki straightened up immediately to his challenge.

"There is a Hidden Village that way, it is the closest place we may find aid for our circumstance." Yuzuki explained before glaring at Jiro, "And as my father Lord Yuu has perished it is now my duty to lead you all to safety. I understand I am young but I have been trained every moment of my life for this event, please follow me as you have my father, and his father before him."

Jiro clammed up and sent a scathing look at Yuzuki. The other clans people simply nodded, too tired and distraught to question if her judgment was any good. Shun simply smiled encouragingly as Yuzuki sealed off the entrance to the camber with a thick sheet of ice and then headed to the front of the group.

"We must move quickly and with luck we will make it there by tomorrow morning." Yuzuki said resolutely and she lead her people foreword out of the mountain and into the night. Refusing to look back at what was once her home.


End file.
